There’s nothing here that will change the world or one’s perception of music (country or otherwise), but it’s not meant to. This type of communal intimacy only serves to further the hippie/country vibe so well executed throughout. It’s an understated approach perfectly suited to the deceptively involved arrangements on tracks like “Gulfport You’ve Been on My Mind.” Where Taylor’s voice takes center stage in the mix – as well it should – it’s lovingly enveloped not only by sympathetic playing, but also angelic harmonies from the likes of Tift Merritt, John Paul White, Tamisha Waden and others. Throughout, drummer Darren Jessee coaxes the band along with a slow, Levon Helm-esque shuffle, heavy on the backbeat. Indeed, The Band (with and without Bob Dylan) is a clear reference point for much of the material here, Taylor himself sounding more than a little like Dylan on “I Am the Song.” Yet rather than mere vocal affectation, it feels more an extension of Taylor’s vocal persona on the album and, as “I Am the Song” is one of the rowdier tracks on Hallelujah Anyhow – relatively speaking – the added muscle and nasal twang helps him rise above the fray. Phil Cook’s piano on “Harder Rain” is strikingly reminiscent of Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson’s exuberantly ascending lines, taking each verse just that much higher, crashing on the shore of the chorus. Yet rather than conjuring images of after midnight navel gazing, Hallelujah Anyhow feels more the product of a lazy afternoon spent drifting off in the warmth of the sun. An early highpoint, it, like the rest of the album, shows itself to be in no hurry. Playing like one long, subtle crescendo, there’s a hypnotic quality to the unobtrusive instrumental backing wending its way in and around Taylor’s nasal croon. “Jaw” rides the wave of a gently surging chord progression that builds ever so slightly throughout, almost imperceptibly adding drums, additional guitars, pedal steel, mandolin and gently humming horns. It’s an easy-going, amiable approach that passes by effortlessly, the music and melodies commingling to produce a soothing balm perfect for late-night listening or simply looking to survive the day in these increasingly trying times. Like Matthew Houck and his Phosphorescent project, Taylor traffics in country rock heavily influenced by the post-hippie/pre-outlaw scene that could just as easily be classified as singer-songwriter fare as it is country. Enlisting the talents of more than a dozen additional musicians and vocalists, the album carries with it a communal, decidedly pastoral vibe, one steeped in an era long past but heavily fetishized by a certain segment of the Americana-leaning end of the indie spectrum. Taylor has built an impressive catalog over the last decade or so, moving from introspective, spectral folk rock to The Band-aping laidback country of his latest, Hallelujah Anyhow.
As Hiss Golden Messenger, singer-songwriter M.C.
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